


a different kind of knight

by helsinkibaby



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Comment Fic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 16:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2435288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of saving her life, Frank realises something about Jenny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a different kind of knight

"Get to the archives. Now."

The text message from Abbie was succinct yet cryptic, more than enough to have Frank heading out his office door before he'd even had time to register he was moving. On arriving at the archives, he wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't Abbie with her jacket on, obviously ready to leave. 

"You need some help with clean up?" he asked and Abbie actually rolled her eyes before she looked over her shoulder. 

"You might say that," she muttered. A loud crash had her wincing but when she turned back to look at Frank, her gaze was laser sharp. "Look, I don't know what crawled up her ass, but whatever it is, she's muttering something about men being jackasses so I'm guessing it's something to do with the two of you. Whatever it is, I do not want to know, I do not need to know, but I am counting on you to do something about it. Good night."

The good night sounded a lot more like good riddance and she didn't look back as she stalked off, leaving Frank looking after her in confusion. Another crash galvanised him into action and he walked deeper inside, to the smaller room at the back where he figured Jenny was hiding. 

She had her back to him when he first saw her but one glimpse of her back, of the tension in her shoulders, told him pretty clearly that all was not well. He frowned, like Abbie at a loss as to what had upset her. "Hey," he said mildly, trying not to have flashbacks to the end of his marriage. 

"Hey." Jenny's terse greeting did little to stem the memories. "So she called you."

Feeling as if he was heading into the lion's den, Frank stepped closer towards her. "Obviously I've done something wrong," he said and her head snapped around to look at him, fire burning in her eyes. "I'm just not sure what because the last time I saw you, in the woods, I'm fairly sure I helped save your life."

Jenny's jaw dropped, then set and she shook her head as she looked up to Heaven. "You appeared out of nowhere with a fucking rocket launcher," she reminded him, and although the gun he'd used hadn't exactly been that, it hasn't been far off. "Wandering into the middle of a fight that wasn't yours..."

"What's that supposed to mean? Not my fight? I thought we were in this together..."

She shook her head again, "I was doing just fine on my own," she tells him, arms crossed over her chest. "I don't need a knight in shining armour coming in to save me... I was saving myself for a long time before you came along, and I'll keep on doing it after you leave."

He blinked when she said that, surprised shock rendering him mute. She stared at him, defiant, for a moment longer, then bit her lip, dropping her gaze. She looked very young suddenly, unsure, all the fight suddenly gone from her. 

That's when the penny dropped.

"That's what this is about." He was speaking as much to himself as her, making sense of it by thinking out loud. "Us. You're not pissed because I saved your life. You're pissed because you didn't have to do it all by yourself."

"I was fine-" she begins, and for once he doesn't let her finish.

"I don't doubt it." He took a step closer to her, then another kept going as he spoke. "But what happened in the woods today spooked you, and now I know why. You've been on your own a long time, Jenny, I get that. Got used to people leaving you high and dry. Got used to fending for yourself." He was standing in front of her by now and he reached out, laid his hands on her shoulders. "And you think I'm going to do the same thing. Come into your life and get you used to me and then pull the rug out from under you." 

He didn't ask her if he was right. He knew he was; her shuddering intake of breath only confirmed it. 

"I'm not going to do that," he promised her, hands sliding from her shoulders down her back. "I'm not going anywhere." One hand traced circles on the small of her back, the other moved up again, cupping the back of her neck, tangling in the curls there.  "Lady, I _am_ your knight in shining armour," he told her softly. "And I love you."

Jenny was staring up at him the same way she'd done the first time they'd met, when they'd stood toe to toe in the Sleepy Hollow Sheriff's department and he'd outlined what her sister and Crane were up to, asked her if she was in or out. The same fear, distrust, flickered through her eyes, along with the same hope, the need to believe what if was he was telling her. 

He felt, rather than saw her acceptance, as her shoulders slumped, her head moved forwards and she almost collapsed against him, her arms going around his waist, hands making fists of his jacket. She was trembling, he realised, and he pulled her closer, held her tightly and waited for her to speak. 

"You saved my life today," she mumbled against his shoulder and while he didn't need a thank you, the acknowledgment made him smile nonetheless. 

"Any time," he promised and she must have heard the smile in his voice because when she looked up at him, her own lips were beginning to curl up. "Come on," he said, tilting his head towards the exit. "Let's go home... I'm sure we can come up with a way for you to repay me..."

He didn't tell her but the smile she gave him when she slipped her hand into his was all the repayment he needed. 


End file.
